A source close to the White House tell Israel Hayom that an American demand for Israel to withdraw IDF forces from southern Lebanon is only a matter of time. According to the source, when such a demand arises, it will place Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a very difficult dilemma.
At the same time, those close to the prime minister also believe Washington is expected to present Israel with a diktat on a withdrawal from southern Lebanon. However, Netanyahu told his aides that leaving the security zone in southern Lebanon is a "red line," in his words.
Alongside that position, the prime minister instructed the IDF to prepare in a way that protects IDF soldiers operating in the area. Netanyahu's circle says the situation with the Americans is "definitely challenging," against the backdrop of the shift in the Trump administration's policy and growing diplomatic pressure on Israel.
The American pressure nears Lebanon
The remarks come after Israel Hayom reported several days ago that Jerusalem was bracing for a period of growing diplomatic pressure from Washington following US President Donald Trump's reversal in his approach toward Iran. At the time, Netanyahu's circle said the line adopted by the prime minister was "to say yes wherever possible, and no as much as necessary," ahead of the expected demands from Trump.
Netanyahu's associates also said that, given the situation that had emerged, Israel needed "to act wisely" and respond with its head, not its gut. A diplomatic source stressed that Israel would safeguard its security: "The enemies are around our borders, not anyone else's, and we will act against them."
As of now, there is no known American demand for the withdrawal of IDF forces from southern Lebanon, but Israel assessed that such a demand could come. Now, that assessment appears to be taking shape, both in Washington and in Jerusalem, as the issue of Israel's presence in southern Lebanon emerges as one of the points of friction between Israel and the US administration.
